Strickland Says Obama ‘Energized’ for Debate (Transcript)

Oct 12, 2012

Former Ohio Governor Ted
Strickland, co-chairman of President Barack Obama’s re-
election campaign, said in an interview on Bloomberg
Television’s “Political Capital with Al Hunt,” airing this
weekend, that the president will be “energized” by Vice
President Joe Biden’s performance in his debate against
Republican running mate Paul Ryan.

(This is not a legal transcript. Bloomberg LP cannot
guarantee its accuracy.)

AL HUNT: We begin the show with former Ohio governor
and co-chair of the Obama-Biden campaign, Ted Strickland,
who is in Danville, Kentucky, the site of the vice
presidential debate.

Governor, let me start off. Democrats are celebrating
Joe Biden’s performance, but mainly in contrast to Barack
Obama. Republicans say, however, that the vice president
interrupted, he was dismissive, he was - he was - there
were smirks, and it’s reminiscent of Al Gore in 2000.

TED STRICKLAND: Well, listen, when Mitt Romney
interrupted last week, those same people were applauding
Mitt Romney’s behavior. I think there’s a little bit of a
political bias going on with this criticism.

STRICKLAND: Well, I’m not sure we had ever left, but
he sure energized us, and he gave us a reason to feel
energized, as we move into next week for the second
presidential debate. And I’m confident that the president’s
going to do a great job next week. And full steam ahead
until the polls close on November the 6th.

HUNT: Let me come back to that debate next week in
just a moment. But one of the most difficult moments for
the vice president last night was over Libya and the
terrorist incident there. Mitt Romney continues to hit that
this weekend as a lack of leadership. That’s a problem for
Democrats, isn’t it?

STRICKLAND: Well, I think it’s a problem for Mitt
Romney. And for a man to do what he did, while our - while
our embassy was under attack, before he had all of the
information, to actually stand at a press conference and
accuse the president of the United States of sympathizing
with - with those who were our enemies, that was
reprehensible.

And I feel like last night, when it came to foreign
policy, Paul Ryan seemed inadequate, uninformed. Joe Biden
seemed to be mature, insightful, definitive, and I was so
proud when he said to the nation, we will leave Afghanistan
in 2014. He was very definite about that, and I felt like
that was a high point of the debate.

HUNT: Governor, you mentioned the presidential debate
next Tuesday. Let me ask you about that. What is President
Obama’s greatest challenge to undo that desultory
performance in Denver lat week?

STRICKLAND: Well, the president just simply needs to
hold Mitt Romney accountable for his lack of truth-telling.
I think if he simply does that, he will emerge in a very
strong position. Mitt Romney was not honest last week. And
I don’t know how - how to say it more kindly. He told the
American people, for example, that his health care plan
protected people from being discriminated against because
of pre-existing conditions. It was his plan, Al. He knew
that was not true. And yet he said that to the American
people in front of maybe 70 million people. That’s just one
example, but he’s been dishonest at other times.

When he spent millions of dollars telling the American
people that the president was removing the work requirement
from welfare reform, it was a blatant falsehood. And so the
president needs to make sure that Mitt Romney does not get
by with shading or distorting or twisting the truth next
week.

HUNT: So you’re looking for a far more aggressive
Barack Obama than we saw in Denver?

STRICKLAND: Oh, I am. I certainly am. And I think it’s
going to be a great debate. Listen, I have great confidence
in this president.

HUNT: Is the Obama strategy - you’re the co-chair - is
it going to be to paint Mitt Romney as a right-wing
ideologue or as a serial opportunistic flip-flopper? He
can’t be both.

STRICKLAND: Well, I think he’s both.

HUNT: That’s contradictory.

STRICKLAND: I absolutely think he’s both. I don’t know
if this man has a core set of beliefs that he’s willing to
stand up for, so in that regard, he is a flip-flopper. But
he also has allowed himself during this primary season to
take on the most extreme positions of the right-wing. And
so I think he’s an extremist who is a flip-flopper. And
those are characteristics we don’t need in the presidency.

HUNT: Well, Governor Romney says, in contrast to the
president, that he was able to govern in a bipartisan
fashion when he was a governor of Massachusetts. He cites
by 87 percent Democratic legislature and they got things
done, he says, in contrast to the partisan divide that has
marked the Obama years.

STRICKLAND: Well, Al, the one thing that he got done
that he should be proud of was the health care plan for
Massachusetts. And, you know, it’s no secret that Democrats
were going to support him as he was trying to pass a bill
that would provide health care to his citizens. That’s the
Democratic kind of issue and agenda.

But if you’ve talked to the people in Massachusetts, I
mean, Al, there’s a reason why he’s not even contesting
Massachusetts in this presidential campaign, although he
lived there and was their governor. They don’t like him.

HUNT: Let me ask you this. Picking up on an issue in
the Thursday night debate, some Democrats say in these
final weeks they want to seize on the abortion issue, to
galvanize women voters. Now, is that something that you
think is smart? Or would you rather emphasize other issues
than abortion?

STRICKLAND: Well, women’s health issues, including the
abortion issue, the choice issue, is hugely important. And
I was with Cecile Richards last night as we watched the
debate, and we were talking about what Romney would do with
Planned Parenthood. You know, Al, there are a lot of
progressive Republican women who really strongly support
Planned Parenthood. And Mitt Romney says he’ll defund
Planned Parenthood. That’s just one issue.

But all of these issues - pay equity for women, the
choice issue for women, women’s health, all of these issues
are deserving of intense debate. And I hope those issues
come up in the next presidential debate, because they are
worthy of discussion.

HUNT: But do you think Obama-Biden can carry some of
those southeastern Ohio counties or do sufficiently well
there by stressing abortion?

STRICKLAND: Well, the president stresses a lot of
things. You know, Al, I represented that conservative
Appalachian district along the Ohio River for 12 years. And
we did polling on the abortion issue, and consistently the
people in that region said they want the abortion issue
left alone. They do not want Roe v. Wade overturned. They
do not want to criminalize a woman who may choose for her
own reasons to have an abortion.

The people in southeastern Ohio are commonsense folk.
We can’t pigeonhole them in any way. They don’t like
abortions, but they don’t want the government telling a
woman that she’s a criminal or she’ll become a criminal if
- if that’s her choice.

HUNT: Ted Strickland, a final quick question. On
November 6th, what’ll be the final tally in Ohio, in the
presidential race?

STRICKLAND: Well, four years ago, I think it was about
51-47. I’ll take that. If the president wins 51 to 47, I’ll
be a happy guy and the president will be re-elected to a
second term.

HUNT: And that’s what you expect to happen?

STRICKLAND: Well, I’d like to get 52 or 53, but I’ll
take 51.

HUNT: All right. Ted Strickland, thank you so much for
being with us. And when we return, we’ll talk to another
former governor on the other side, John Sununu of New
Hampshire, a top Romney surrogate.

***END OF TRANSCRIPT***

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